Forgetting to Consecrate

[chief30]

The other day at daily mass the priest forgot to consecrate the wine. After saying, “Let us proclaim the mystery of faith.” he looked up at us, pointed with his finger at the chalice and mouthed “Did I forget?”. Some of us nodded. Then, while we were singing I noticed he was saying sentences under his breath. I figured most likely that he was consecrating the wine.

But anyway-

1. Would the wine become the blood of Christ if said out of order in this case?
2. Has this ever happened to you?

 

[DavidFilmer]

If he was made aware of his oversight then he would surely have corrected it, so I would go with your assumption about what he was doing during the hymn.

He should have stopped the service and done the consecration it in the usual public manner, but it would not matter for Sacramental validity, so long as he had done it before the elements were distributed.

Under Latin Rite theology, the consecration is not complete (and thus not effective) unless both elements are consecrated. Thus, the bread would have remained bread, and the wine would have obviously remained wine.

The more troubling thing is that he would forget. This may indicate some serious personal or medical problem. Maybe this priest could use a little help.

Nothing like this has ever happened to me. But, thinking about it, for some reason the image of Yoda as a priest popped into my head, with Yoda saying, “My Body, this is.”

 

[DianaCC]

I never say mass anyway. But I have walked out leaving pots on the stove. When I do that I usually mouth something. But as for your other question, yes, it does become the blood if said out of order. Liturgical authorities have worked out a huge contingency plan for all sorts of things ranging from consecrating the wine first to forgetting to add a drop of water and beyond.

 

[yablabo]

1. Would the wine become the blood of Christ if said out of order in this case?
2. Has this ever happened to you?

The order of the Mass is there for a reason, but due to our fallen human nature, things do go astray, like memory. As long as the minister speaks the words of institution over the matter/element (either the bread or the wine) with the intent in general or in virtue to do as the Church does, he has confected the sacrament.

This particular event has never happened to me that I am aware of, but I have been present at simulated sacrifices where the wine was never consecrated.

– Nicole

 

[MarkThompson]

Under Latin Rite theology, the consecration is not complete (and thus not effective) unless both elements are consecrated. Thus, the bread would have remained bread, and the wine would have obviously remained wine.

This is not at all true. In fact, the very fact that it can be done is why we have Canon 927 of the CIC:
Can. 927 It is absolutely forbidden, even in extreme urgent necessity, to consecrate one matter without the other or even both outside the eucharistic celebration.
As to the OP’s questions, yes, the Consecration was completely valid in this case, and the priest did exactly the right thing once he realized his omission. This is hardly the first time in history that such a thing has happened. But no, I have never seen it happen!

I should point out that if the priest had not corrected his mistake, then (1) the bread would have been consecrated (it already was by the time he elevated it after saying “This is my Body”), (2) the wine would have remained ordinary unconsecrated wine, (3) people who received Communion under the species of bread would have received the entire Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ, just like always, and (4) although the Eucharist was valid as regards the bread, the ceremony in toto would not have been a Mass, since Mass requires both elements of the sacrifice. It just would have been a big blunder.

 

[Mark1970]

I can’t remember the details, but 30 years ago my pastor at the time was developing senile dementia and incidents like the one you describe were - not ususual, to say the least. I remember one weekday Mass when he repeated most of the Eucharistic Prayer because he couldn’t remember whether or not he had said it. It was strange for me as a server as I would only be between 9 and 12 years old at the time and serving Mass for a priest in these circumstances was an interesting experience. More than once I had to indicate to the priest the stage of the Mass he was up to. There was a community of Salesian priests a few miles away and they would help with the Sunday Masses, but when I started serving Mass, the Pastor was still celebrating the weekday Masses. Sometimes the headmaster of the parish school, or one of the other parishoners, would act as an unofficial MC at Mass, to try to keep things on track.

 

[Newbie2]

Yep, happened in my wife’s former parish when we went back to visit. The priest was quite elderly at the time, has since retired and is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

I look at like (no offense meant) taking communion as when I was formerly a Lutheran; there was no real (physical) presense, yet there was some manner of grace received from the sacrament.

 

[chief30]

Thank you for all of your responses. I think it was just an honest mistake and most likely (not sure though) the first time it had happened.

 

[MusicMan]

It has happened to me once. We had a substitute priest, of many years, who was suffering some memory issues because of the drugs he was taking to treat his cancer.

He consecrated the host and the intoned for the Mystery of Faith. I was at the piano, didn’t not begin the music for the Mystery of Faith, but rather called for the wine. He didn’t understand, so I went to the Altar whispered in his ear that he had forgotten to consecrate the wine. He argued a bit with me, so I turned the page back in the Sacramentary, pointed to the section about the wine, and said, “You forgot. Just start here.”

He nodded, thanked me, and proceeded to consecrate the wine.

Mass continued normally. After he apologized for his mistake, explained about his memory problems, and life went on.

For the next week, random people in the community stopped me in public and chastised me for embarrassing that nice old priest. I politely explained the matter to them. Our pastor got wind of the chastising, and the next Sunday, in his homily, defended my actions and then chastised the congregation for their own lack of understanding of the Catholic faith. “Clearly, we need to review some basic elements of our beliefs.”